Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, has been badly hit by natural disasters in the past few years.

A powerful cyclone in 2008 left an estimated 100,000 people dead and another one two years later left 70,000 people homeless, the United Nations said.

The quake was significantly less powerful than the one that hit Japan two weeks ago, causing a tsunami and prompting fears of a nuclear meltdown. The series of disasters in Japan has left more than 10,000 people dead.

The Myanmar quake was roughly comparable in magnitude and depth to last year's Haiti earthquake, which measured 7.0. More than 200,000 people died in the Haiti earthquake, and millions were affected.